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Midweek, Bay Collective disclosed the recruitment of Anja van Ginhoven, England's general manager working with head coach Sarina Wiegman, as their overseer of worldwide women's football activities. The freshly established multi-club ownership body, with Bay FC of San Francisco as its first club in its portfolio, has prior experience in hiring individuals from the Football Association.

The hiring in recent months of Kay Cossington, the well-respected previous technical director at the Football Association, as top executive acted as a demonstration of ambition from the collective. She knows the women's game comprehensively and now has gathered an executive team with profound insight of the history of women's football and filled with professional background.

Van Ginhoven marks the third key figure of the manager's inner circle to leave this year, with Cossington leaving prior to Euro 2025 and the assistant manager, Veurink, stepping down to take up the role of head manager of Holland, but her decision arrived more quickly.

Leaving proved to be a shock to the system, but “My choice was made to leave the FA quite a long time ago”, she explains. “The terms for four years, just as the assistant and head coach did. When they renewed, I previously indicated I was uncertain about renewing myself. I was already used to the thought that following the tournament my time with England would end.”

The tournament was a deeply felt competition due to that. “I recall distinctly, having a conversation with Wiegman where I basically told her regarding my plans and after which we agreed: ‘We share a single dream, how incredible it would be to clinch the European title?’ In reality, it's rare that aspirations are realized every day but, remarkably, ours came true.”

Sitting in an orange T-shirt, she holds dual affections following her stint with the English team, during which she contributed to securing consecutive European championships and was a part of the manager's team when the Netherlands won at Euro 2017.

“The English side retains a dear spot in my heart. So, it’s going to be tough, especially with the knowledge that the squad are due to arrive for the upcoming fixtures in the near future,” she says. “In matches between England and the Netherlands, who do I support? Right now I'm in Dutch colors, though tomorrow English white.”

You can change direction and move quickly in a speedboat. In a lean group like this one, that’s easily done.

The American side was not part of the equation as the management specialist was deciding that a new chapter was needed, but everything aligned opportunely. The chief executive started to bring people in and mutual beliefs proved essential.

“Virtually from the start we got together we felt immediate synergy,” remarks she. “You’re immediately on the same level. Our conversations have been thorough about different things concerning growing the sport and the methods we believe are correct.”

Cossington and Van Ginhoven are not the only figures to uproot themselves from well-known positions within European football for a blank sheet of paper in the US. Atlético Madrid’s women’s technical director, González, has been introduced as the group's global sporting director.

“I felt strongly drawn by the firm conviction of the power within the female sport,” she says. “I've been acquainted with Kay Cossington for many years; during my tenure at Fifa, she was the technical director of England, and it’s easy to make these decisions when you know you will have around you individuals who motivate you.”

The profound understanding among their staff makes them unique, explains she, for the collective among a number recent multi-team projects which have emerged over the past few years. “That’s one of our unique selling points. It’s OK that people do things in different ways, but we are firm in our belief in incorporating football expertise,” she states. “All three of us have traveled a path within the women's game, probably for the best part of our lives.”

According to their online statement, the goal for the collective is to advocate and innovate a forward-thinking and durable system for women's football clubs, built on proven methods to meet the varied requirements of women in sport. Doing that, with unified understanding, without having to justify actions for specific initiatives, is incredibly freeing.

“I liken it to transitioning from a tanker to a speedboat,” states she. “You’re basically driving in uncharted waters – as we say in the Netherlands, not sure how it comes across – and you must depend on your personal insight and skills to choose wisely. Adjusting course and speeding up is possible with a speedboat. In a small team like this, it's straightforward to accomplish.”

González adds: “In this role, we have a completely white sheet of paper to work from. Personally, our mission focuses on impacting football on a wider scale and that blank slate permits you to undertake whatever you want, adhering to football's guidelines. That’s the beauty of our collective project.”

The ambition is high, the management are saying the things the football community hope to hear and it will be compelling to monitor the progress of this organization, Bay FC and future additions to the group.

For a flavour of what is to come, what factors are essential in a high-performance setting? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve